My birthday is New Year’s Eve and this year I turned 32. As a kid, it was awesome because I got to have a party or celebrate however I wanted and then stay up until the ball dropped, drinking sparkling grape juice. As an adult, it isn’t quite as glamorous simply because I now have to compete with the holiday. Kids always come to your birthday party because there are no bars or clubs or better things to do. Your party IS the thing to do. As an adult, you have to make your party pretty enticing to convince your adult friends to stop by before heading to the other festivities. I’ve been throwing a birthday/NYE party for myself for several years now and these are the reasons why I always try to have an amazing spread, fun decorations, a fun activity, and plenty of booze at my parties. With the baby expected to arrive in the spring, this was my last party for a while. But we made it pretty awesome!

The Food

Our menu consisted of black bean sliders with chipotle aioli, charcuterie tray, sausage balls, mini corn cakes with smoked salmon and dill, a veggie tray, a fruit tray, a dessert tray from our local Fresh Market, and some bomb-diggity short rib queso dip that I didn’t get a picture of because it was in a slow cooker on the counter.

We accompanied our charcuterie tray with cornichons, honey-roasted mixed nuts, and green olives.

In addition to all of this food, our friends also brought side dishes and drinks so we were definitely set on delicious noms all night!

The Decorations

I’ve been using the same decorations for years. I got them pretty cheap at Party City and box them up after the party and keep them safe until the next time. I think they work pretty well but Nick hates them because they do look so cheap. Oh, well. They’ll have to do until I can afford some fancy schmancy decorations, which will probably be never so plastic decorations it is!

The Fun Activity

This is another activity I do every year: setting up a resolution station. This year I simply taped some black craft paper on the wall and outlined it in strips of leftover glittery wrapping paper. I set out gold sharpies for my guests to write down their New Year’s Resolutions if they felt up to it. I have several resolutions this year that I’ll be sharing with you all tomorrow.

I’m really grateful to all of my friends that were able to make it this year. Like I mentioned above, it’s the last soirée we’ll be having since our little man is coming, so it was nice to feel like I went out with a bang!

Last couple selfie of 2016. It’ll be ‘just the two of us’ for only a few more months!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Happy birthday to me! I’m 32 years old today and I think I’m looking & feeling pretty good. Also, I hope everyone has a very happy new year!

For the past few years I’ve written a review post featuring my favorite outfits from that year. Since I took a six-month break this year and haven’t posted many outfits in 2016, I decided to instead share my favorite outfits since I started documenting my outfits. I technically started blogging in 2010 but it was just an ‘every now and then, when I felt like it’ sort of thing. I started blogging my outfits in 2013 when I started graduate school. So the outfits outlined above and detailed below are from the past three years. The majority of my favorites are from 2014, when I was finally hitting my stride in blogging. And the outfits I chose are the ones I’ve worn the most in real life and would totally (read: will most likely) wear again in the coming year.

Original post 1: Plum is one of my favorite colors. Even in 2013 when this was taken.

Original post 2:  I was figuring out how to dress like a graduate student and succeeding.

Original post 3: Weekend layers are perfect for any backyard bbq.

Original post 4: Wearing sweaters in the summer because of office air conditioning.

Original post 5: When a short girl is able to successfully pull off a midi skirt — it’s not too long!

Original post 6: I have a lot of little green dresses but this is one of my favorites. Perfect for holiday parties.

Original post 7: Sequins are perfect for any party, but especially a holiday party.

Original post 8: A fuzzy sweater, boots, and a knit hat to keep me warm and cozy in the winter.

Original post 9: Warm breezes in the middle of February make you dream of warm sunshine.

Original post 10: I’m drawn to neutral colors, especially white, with maybe a splash of color in the form of an accessory or blazer/jacket.

Original post 11: My favorite little black dress that can be worn for day and night.

Original post 12: I finally found a job after grad school and got to wear cute outfits like this again.

Original post 13: That one piece of clothing that I love more than anything but I’m afraid to wear, even though it has shown up twice in this list.

Original post 14: Adding some color to my collection of jeans/bottoms with these purple pants. And rocking a cute baby bump.

Original post 15: When a short girl is able to successfully pull off a blanket scarf and it doesn’t swallow her whole.

I’m hoping that 2017 is a much better year than 2017. Also, one last time:

photo source

Our Christmas was pretty magical, which was very nice considering how lousy this year has been so far. Here are a few of my Instagram photos from Christmas thus far. We have another celebration coming up so I might be able to do another post like this before the end of the year.

Mom’s Christmas tree. It’s magical

How can I NOT love this face? *kisses*

Mia by the tree, waiting to open her presents.

NCsquared at the Durham Holiday Parade

Proud papa-to-be with his nerdy Star Wars gifts <3

Here’s wishing all of my dear readers a very merry Christmas, from my family to yours!

I’ve only mentioned this once or twice on the blog but last month I was laid off from my grant writing job at the nonprofit where I worked (collectively) for more than 4 years. There was big organization-wide restructure and my position was eliminated. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard; I’ve never experienced a layoff before and it has really taken a toll on my self-confidence. Don’t worry, I’m working through it and getting my resume out there, but it has made me think a lot about the time I spent in college, preparing to join the workforce. I had no idea what to expect but I had (and still have, I suppose) a lot of dreams and plans for myself. I wanted to have some fun with my reflection so I wrote a letter of advice to my younger self. If I could go back in time and have a conversation, here’s what I’d say to me:

Dear Nikki:

First and foremost, congratulations, you made it! You’re the first person in your family to attend a four-year college so everything will be a learning curve, but you’re going to do just fine. I’m really proud of the success you had in college and luckily, you don’t have too many regrets today. Those four years sure flew by fast, didn’t they? Felt like a blink of an eye.

Little Nikki graduating with her B.A. in Psychology

You did good, kid. There were a lot of good times; those times are really important. You got involved in community theatre and women’s groups which helped build your identity. You decided to be specially added to that biology class freshman year where you met your future husband. Youdid a great job of balancing your studies with the partying, which is hard for some college students. Oh, that that time you drove all the way to D.C. just to see a Shakira concert – still one of the best experiences of your life. But most importantly, you adopted Chico and spent the next 10 years knowing a love you never thought was possible. (RIP little Chicoman).

Chico Antonio, 2006-2016. RIP little man

Because college was a big learning curve for you, there are some things I wish you had known then that you know now – little nuggets of advice you’d give to just about any college freshman if they were to ask for your highly-valued opinion – that would help you out with your career in the future. These are the things I wish I had known back then because they’re very valuable to your new job search today.

Choose a few more challenging classes. I’m proud of you for choosing a course of study that interested and inspired you, but you really should have thrown a political science or economy class in there, as well. I know your mission was to make the world a better place (as you’ll be happy to know it still is) but you would have benefited from that foundation of knowledge just as much.

Learn how to network and then do it as often as you can. You never know when you will need to reach out to someone for help or vice versa. In this dog-eat-dog world, everyone is more successful when they help each other out. You’re almost 32 years old and talking to people you don’t know very well about topics such as jobs and what you’re good at still scares the crap out of you. This is a skill you could have picked up and mastered a long time ago.

Get more involved with the community. In a few years, the world is going to make you cynical person. Where you once loved people, you’ll find yourself retreating to recharge on your own for a while. Getting more involved with the community with help you build networks and people you can reach out to if you need it in the future.

Get to know a few professors better. Get a mentor. This is so important because a mentor will help you build your leadership skills and help guide you through the field and into the career you really want to have, as well as offer a foundation for lasting professional and personal networks. It’ll make finding your dream job that much easier!

Study abroad. I know it’s scary and you’ve never even stepped foot in an airport (and you won’t until you’re 26 years old) but this is the biggest regret you have in life right now. You know how much you love other languages and cultures so this is your chance to go out and experience them. You probably won’t get the opportunity again. I know it seems expensive and scary but you can talk to your professors and the cashier’s office about how to get your financial aid to pay for it. Trust me on this one. Also, there are companies like Earnest you can use after graduation to help you get back on your feet by refinancing your student loans. So don’t miss out on this opportunity!

Lastly, look at college as preparation for life, not just a job.

These days, life is pretty good despite your recent unemployment. You have a wonderful husband, a beautiful house, a silly little dog named Mia, great friends, and a baby on the way. You’ve accomplished a lot so this one little bump in the road isn’t breaking you. And that’s because you always have been and always will be pretty awesome. Keep it up.

Sincerely,

Nikki